Arts & Crafts

Rings by Helen Brice, HerefordThe Wye Valley provides fertile ground for arts and crafts. You'll find art shops, craft shops, potteries, galleries and antique shops in towns and villages throughout the area including Monmouth, Chepstow, Tintern, Ross-on-Wye, Hereford, Holme Lacy and Fownhope.

Whether you are in search of small gifts for friends or unique, one-off works of art and craft, you will find something to tempt you. Artistic creativity fascinates most of us, and there's often the chance to watch craftspeople and artists at work before buying their creations.

The Wye Valley Crafts Association sells a wide range of local wares at the Abbey Mill Craft Centre in Tintern. Craft and antique markets are held in Monmouth on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday each month, outside Shire Hall.

An annual showcase for the work of artists and craftsmen in Herefordshire is the Contemporary Arts and Crafts Fair held in Hereford in December.

Artists working in the Wye Valley include:

Don Lavelle, who lives in the St Briavels Common area, concentrates on views and river scenery in the Wye Valley itself. Donald Lavelle

 

Tuition

Tuition in arts, crafts and creative writing is offered in the idyllic setting of The Wye Valley Arts Centre near St Briavels. Painting courses and workshops are offered at the Pat Yallup Studio, Llandogo, where there are also regular exhibitions at Gallery House. Also in Llandogo, D. Mariana Robinson runs painting courses and teaches watercolour techniques. She also has an Art Gallery and Studio at Abbey Lodge in Tintern.

Exhibitions

Occasional art and craft exhibitions are held at Chepstow Museum, The Nelson Museum and Local History Centre in Monmouth, Tintern Old Station signal box, Hereford Museum and Art Gallery and the Market House Heritage Centre in Ross-on-Wye.

Regular art and craft events in the area include Art on the Railings, held in Chepstow on the first Saturday of July, August and September each year. Herefordshire Art Week and is an annual showcase for local artists and craftsmen. In the Forest of Dean a similar event, the Forest Open Studios Art Trail, includes artists from the Wye Valley.

For up-to-date details of art and craft events throughout the AONB, ask at a Tourist Information Centre.

Crafty contacts:

For further details of open workshops and art and craft retailers in the Herefordshire part of the AONB visit www.herefordshiremade.co.uk. In the Monmouthshire part of the AONB, adventa produce a range of useful publications, which can be requested free of charge via their website. For art and craft outlets and events in the Forest of Dean visit www.forestofdean.gov.uk. In the Forest of Dean, the Art Forest listing, available from Tourist Information centres, draws together the diverse activities of artists and craftspeople in the area into one events guide.

Other links you may find helpful are:

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